| Dan Brown's mystical thriller has set off a | | | | enlightened to a few of the author's liberties taken in |
| mini-industry in Parisian travel, with enthralled readers | | | | the writing of this book. From there, one will enter |
| touring the locations in its plot to unravel its enigmas. | | | | the Carrousel du Louvre, where Silas murdered the |
| "Da Vinci Code" fever has hit hard in France, as it | | | | museum curator Jacques Saunier, to see the inverted |
| featured in Dan Brown's best-selling novel and Ron | | | | pyramid believed to house the Holy Grail itself. Next, |
| Howard's recent film adaptation. Paris perhaps boasts | | | | cross the Pont des Arts on the way to the gallery |
| the most credible link to the novel, and entrepreneurs | | | | district of the Left Bank. |
| there have taken the craze to new heights, with | | | | This walk will take the tourist to the Church of |
| nearly 30 companies offering bus trips, walking tours | | | | St-Germain-des-Pres before closing the tour at the |
| and luxurious vacation packages. The Ritz hotel, | | | | final destination, St. Sulpice. Here one will view the |
| where main character Robert Langdon stays, is | | | | infamous Rose Line and take a look inside this |
| offering an uncharacteristically cheesy "The Ritz and | | | | dramatic church. Follow the Rose Line to the |
| Da Vinci" package comprising a night at the hotel, a | | | | towering obelisk where Silas mistakenly believed the |
| bathrobe and an illustrated special edition of the book. | | | | Holy Grail rested. |
| Then there's the five-night extravaganza offered by | | | | The latest craze is to search for the clues Robert |
| the hotel Chateau de Villette, the fictional residence | | | | Langdon and Sophie Neveu sought as they |
| of the character Sir Leigh Teabing, about half an hour | | | | deciphered clues hidden in Leonardo da Vinci's |
| outside Paris. | | | | masterpieces like la Grande Galerie du Musée |
| A tourist group would walk from the tony Place | | | | du Louvre, where fictional curator Jacques |
| Vendome down to the Tuileries Gardens, over to the | | | | Saunière was murdered, works of art such as |
| Carrousel du Louvre's inverted pyramid, across the | | | | the Mona Lisa and The Virgin of the Rocks by |
| Pont des Arts and into the sixth arrondissement, to | | | | Leonardo da Vinci, the Death of the Virgin by |
| the churches of St. Germain des Pres and St. Sulpice. | | | | Caravaggio, l'arc du Carousel, pont du Carousel, and |
| All the sites figure in the book, with the exception of | | | | the frescoes by Eugène Delacroix, the ceiling, |
| the Pont des Arts. The Da Vinci Code Walking Tour | | | | the astronomical gnomen, and the "brass Line" inside |
| of Paris will take one through the pages of Dan | | | | Saint-Sulpice Church. One can find the Arago plaques |
| Brown's sweeping novel that has engulfed the world | | | | that mark Paris' "Rose Line", the north-south |
| with conspiracy. Follow the adventure of renowned | | | | meridional line from which all east-west distances in |
| Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon as he searches | | | | France were measured until 1884. Search for the |
| for the hidden clues that lie all the way through Paris. | | | | Holy Grail in I.M. Pei's Inverted Pyramid. |
| Almost all the tour begins at the famous Hotel Ritz, | | | | "Da Vinci Code" sensationalism is encouraging visitors |
| where the novel opens with Robert Langdon fast | | | | to Paris to take an interest in European history and |
| asleep. Walk through the Jardin des Tuileries and | | | | art, and who can find fault in that? If nothing else, it's |
| enjoy the beautiful gardens as the tourist is | | | | a lovely walk. |